I agree with John. You have to be entered by a training compaany. You will get a sample paper released by ISEB during the course, as well as the books. Some trainers provide other questions which they have written - but these are unofficial. Exam papers are retained after the exam, so no-one has old copies._________________Liz Gallacher,
ITIL EXPERT
Accredited ITIL and ISO/IEC20000 Trainer and Consultant - Freelance

The exam is 2 3-hour written exams over 2 days. no Multiple choice, Closed book. Answers may be essay-form, although bullet points, tables etc. are allowed. You need to pass both papers to the certificate, although you can resit one if you failed one. Around 50% of people pass both at the same sitting, although this fluctuates up and down. Around 6% get 65% or above in both papers at the same sitting, and are awarded distinctions.
Reasons for failing are
not answering the question asked
too little info
failure to show a management approach.
You need to know
Costs, benefits and difficulties for every process
How to implement
relationships between processes.

You really need to do mock exams and have them marked as part of your course - ask the provider, as not everyone does this._________________Liz Gallacher,
ITIL EXPERT
Accredited ITIL and ISO/IEC20000 Trainer and Consultant - Freelance

Hi LizGallacher
Well LizGallacher i dont know this is the right thread post this , since u r a experienced ITILER so have following queries regarding ITIL. Kindly guide me in the right direction.

"Well currently i am working as a Senior Software Engineer(Team Lead) and last few years i am working IT Business process Automation. Also our company going to implement the ERP hopefully i will be the part of Implementation team. My total IT experience(Software Development) is almost 7-8 years plus i have a BS degree in Computer Science. So i want to know if its worthfull for me to go for ITIL and it will enhance my career and give me a carrier path? how are the job prospects for ITIL foundation also for ITIL advanced levels? how is the job market in different regions? i am based in Saudi Arabia, so specially i want to know the job market and salary scale of ITIL foundation or advance level in the whole middle east or anywhere in the world"

ITIL is a management philosophy - for IT Best Practice - for primarily IT Operations - running & supporting a IT department

ITIL is not perfect and does not cover eveything IT related. It however does what it does for what it does quite well.

ITIL's practices are good for managing PCs and the back-end architecture such as servers, network gear and applications.

ITIL is weak on Application Development - esp the Software development Life Cycle. While ITIL has books for such things - there are other standards which may be better

Is ITIL any good for you and what are the job prospective in the ME

First, ITIL is a management process. If you aspire to manage (higher than team lead) and want an additional skill to make you more 'hireable' get ITIL.... get PRINCE2 (or other Project mgmt) ... get COBIT....

It can hurt except in the wallet .... grin....

Now about the job prospects in ME esp KSA. I am a contractor/consultant in ITIL - esp Change, config & Release. I went from full time after 7 years with a telco to contracting. I used the on line web sites for job hunting - there are a lot of KSA roles being offered here in the UK. Jobserver, jobsite, monster job websites would be the best place to checck.

As to salary or daily rate..it is what the market will be willing to pay and what you accept..

ITIL staff with managers certificate can usually expect a 10K pay raise - but that depends on whether they go for other companies or whether their company is willing to pay more etc.

With ITIL and PRINCE2 you can do IT operations, IT projects and with your current skills - you can do Software dev mgmt as well - which for ITIL is Release management

It all boils down to to this.....

If I get ITIL skills, will it help me.... well.. it wont hurt your job prospects_________________John Hardesty
ITSM Manager's Certificate (Red Badge)

Hi dude John
First of all i m sorry for belated thanx on ur wonderfull for me. well man i personally think u give me a very appropriate tips for growing my career in IT management.
Lastly i just wanna know that on the basis of Job prospects on the basis of my current IT experience and with ITIL foundation? i tried on jobserve but i cant see any job which have the requirement of ITIL foundation. So i think foundation is not enough but i need to take more advanced levels of ITIL or someother stuff like PRINCE2 or PMP, so what u think am i right ?

If you want to stay in the development arena, I would suggest to go for Prince 2. I don't know very much about it and would think PMP is better as more practical (I am a former PMI member, that explains probably), however it looks like Prince 2 is really a must on the job market today.

As for ITIL, that may bring you additional understanding on how an IT shop runs (I feel it's a bit of a shame that most developpers know nothing about IT operations in the production world: after all, all programs are supposed to come into life there). However, to gain real ITIL skills , you would need to spend some time in IT operations: the theory is nothing without a real life experience (my opinion).

Hi jpgilles
Dude thanx for ur valuable reply. I started researching on PMP and PRINCE2, so after some research the difference btw these is as follows:
First, PMBOK(PMP Cert.) is a guide and PRINCE2 a methodology. This means that PMBOK(PMP Cert.) is a collection of recommendations, standards, things that “are true in most cases, most of the time”. It is not binding, but a map to get from start to finish, with many roads to get from one point to another. It’s like a highway where you can choose the lane you’re comfortable driving in. A guide describes “how things could be done”, whereas a methodology indicates “our way of doing things” – clear, step by step, no questions asked.
There can be no direct comparison between PRINCE2 and PMBOK because of the difference of the abstraction level – it’s the same like comparing data with metadata. PMBOK is a guide you can use to even create your own personal methodology, whereas PRINCE2 is a ready-made methodology, templates and all.

Hi jpgilles
Dude thanx for ur valuable reply. I started researching on PMP and PRINCE2, so after some research what i got btw then is:
First, PMBOK(PMP Cert.) is a guide and PRINCE2 a methodology. This means that PMBOK(PMP Cert.) is a collection of recommendations, standards, things that “are true in most cases, most of the time”. It is not binding, but a map to get from start to finish, with many roads to get from one point to another. It’s like a highway where you can choose the lane you’re comfortable driving in. A guide describes “how things could be done”, whereas a methodology indicates “our way of doing things” – clear, step by step, no questions asked.
There can be no direct comparison between PRINCE2 and PMBOK because of the difference of the abstraction level – it’s the same like comparing data with metadata. PMBOK is a guide you can use to even create your own personal methodology, whereas PRINCE2 is a ready-made methodology, templates and all.
So now what u suggest which one i can go for ? PMP or PRINCE2
Regards
Hasan

Hasan where are you from? Reading through your posts was quite a challenge but I think I have the basis of what you are asking. 'More ITIL, PMP or Prince2?'

This really comes down to what you want to do. If you want to stay within IT service support and delivery I would suggest picking an ITIL track you like and go forward with it. I highly doubt you'll get a job based on your ITIL Foundation exam but it at least illustrates that you have a foundamental knowledge of what ITIL is.

If you want to go into the PM aspects of IT or any industry give the PMP a shot. I'll warn you that it has some pretty hefty requirements to even sit for the exam and the exam is the hardest 'cert exam' that I have taken. To give you a baseline I've done a number of Microsoft and Cisco cert tracks.

If you want to do software development then prince2, cobit or whatever the company that you are trying to get hired on with uses, would be the best bet.

No one can tell you what you need to do next and assume it's the right answer. The suggestion I give most people when it comes down to it is do what you enjoy and if you don't enjoy what you're doing figure out what you enjoy and take steps to get there.

Hi blah247
Well dude thanx for ur comments. I wanna move forward in my career possibly in management side either IT Manager or Project Manager. As the guys suggests me to go for PRINCE2 if i want to keep on development side and getting some higher position Software Project Manager. It seems me quite reasonable for me as i got good expereince of Development ,So PRINCE2 is a good choice for me. Moreover now i have the understanding of IT Operations by ITIL Foundation certification and in later stages i can get advanced levels of ITIL. Anyways guys any comments?
Well blah i m from Pakistan but working in Saudi Arabia. How about u? what u r working and ur skills?
Regards